SRT Motorsports - Tommy Kendall: What Racing at Le Mans Means to Me 

June 12, 2013 , AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -  The SRT Viper GTS-R is returning to competition in the world’s oldest active sports car endurance race – the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The event, first run in 1923, is set for June 22-23.

This is the last in a series of comments from the six drivers that will pilot the two SRT Viper GTS-Rs in the prestigious event. Today, Tommy Kendall, who will team with Kuno Wittmer and Jonathan Bomarito in the No. 93 SRT Viper GTS-R for the 24-hour race, explains what racing at Le Mans means to him.

“For me, it’s the last frontier. I’ve only raced there once. We had a good run; we finished seventh in our class. I’ve never won; I’ve never been on the podium so it certainly represents an unfulfilled goal. On the grand landscape, it’s the biggest sports car race on the planet. It’s hard to explain to people how cool it is. Not everyone is fortunate to be able to go as a driver but I would recommend going as a fan or any way you can. For this to have kind of happened, fallen into my lap, this opportunity to hook up with SRT, just in general, but the fact Le Mans was part of it was a huge part of my motivation for getting involved.

“Obviously you remember the races that you’ve won but, in terms of single events, there’s nothing that comes close to Le Mans, just being part of it, being out on the grid before the start. I go to sleep every night thinking about the podium. I don’t think there’s a cooler celebration in sports than the podium at Le Mans. The podium at Monza is similar. I mean you look out and there’s a sea of people, national anthem playing and so forth. Whether we’ll get there or not, that’s what I go to sleep thinking about. There’s nothing like it.”

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